Are your insurance policies secure?
News that Aviva has taken a hit on its asset base but is still financial secure will offer at least some short term relief to consumers and investors but should we be worried about the long term stability of the insurance market? Do we need to review who we hold our policies with?
While it would be a little foolish to suggest that we should all be checking the small print of our insurance policies there is a growing concern that the insurance sector could be the next nasty shock in the UK. If the likes of Aviva are taking £600 million hits to their asset base then what is this doing to the smaller groups which may live on tighter margins? Can they survive through the economic downturn?
The main concern in the sector is not only the fact that historically they have been large investors in property but the fact that markets are expected to move further down in the short to medium term. This will further reduce the buffer between obligations and assets although at the moment there do not appear to be any real concerns from the regulators.
Time will tell, but there is no need to be concerned at the moment.
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